


Fiend's Cacophony

by Auburn_Sakura, TheRandomOtaku



Category: Ib (Video Game)
Genre: Adventure, Art, Explicit Language, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Horror, Humor, Male-Female Friendship, Memories, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Overprotective, Promised Reunion, Psychological Horror, Revenge, Romantic Friendship, Spoilers, True Ending, Welcome to the World of Guertena
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-17
Updated: 2013-05-23
Packaged: 2017-12-12 03:00:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/806396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Auburn_Sakura/pseuds/Auburn_Sakura, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRandomOtaku/pseuds/TheRandomOtaku
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Garry and Ib escape the gallery with their memories intact, and they reunite for macaroons and tea. What happens as time goes by and their feelings for one another grow? What happens when they return to the gallery; the place that wants revenge for Mary's "murder..."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Prologue

_A little girl with long, dark brunette hair and red irises stood still in her spot in front of the Fabricated World mural and blinked a few times as she did. She then looked around at her surroundings in complete confusion with her eyebrows in the form of a frown. For the life of her, she couldn’t remember what she was doing, so she finally gave up trying and went on her merry way._

_She went past the Still Life On Table illustration, by the sofa named Reserved Seat, and headless statues wearing different colored dresses, Death of the Individual, before rounding the corner to head down the stairs. The girl had a hop in her step until she reached the first floor of the building and made a left. In the area she entered was the paintings A Well-Meaning Hell and Abyss of the Deep, but something told her she needed to continue on through the building, so she did by taking a right._

_When she arrived, there was a very tall man with short, dull, light purple hair with dark purple highlights on the top of his head, and wore a long, tattered, navy colored jacket standing in front of the rose statue, Embodiment of Spirit. He seemed familiar, but she didn’t understand why. She had never seen the man before in her life, but, with a curious expression, the little girl walked up to the man and tilted her head up at him._

_“Hm...?” Feeling like he was being watched, the tall male looked down to his right and saw the young female. “What is it, little lady?”_

_The little girl played with the hem of her dress a little bit. “...What’re you looking at?”  she asked quietly, her somewhat high voice wavering._

_“Hm? Well, let’s see...” He looked at the rose structure then back at the girl in front of him. “It’s a rose sculpture, I guess...” he informed before turning his attention back to the piece of artwork. “...When I look at this sculpture...I feel, somehow...sorrowful... I wonder why...” The man then shook his head and turned to the young girl. “...Ah, I’m sorry if I said anything to trouble you, Ib...”_

_She gave him a weird look of suspicion and stared at him silently and intently. “...Wait, what? Who’s Ib?” she heard him ask. His dull, light purple eyes seemed to widen at her. “What? That’s_ your _name?” He appeared to become confused. “_ Your _name’s really Ib?”_

_The man watched the little girl nod her read in response. “That’s the strangest thing... I mean, I don’t even know you at all...” he said gently. “It just kind of...came out... How odd...” He then frowned for a short moment before having an expression filled with slight realization. “...but...actually... Have we...perhaps, met somewhere...before...?”_

_Ib observed the gentleman while he shook his head. “...My, look at me...asking you strange things...” she noted him mumble. “Never mind what I said... Well, bye.” The red eyed girl watched him as he began to stroll away, but quickly noticed how he stopped dead in his tracks in the middle of the hallway._

_Frowning in bewilderment, the male pulled out a small piece of fabric made of actual lace. “What’s this...a handkerchief?” he asked out loud. “When did I get this...?”  He heard footsteps behind him, turning around and seeing the little, brunette girl. “Ah...this is yours?” he questioned and opened the handkerchief up a little more. “...My word...it’s true. “Ib...” Your name’s right on it.” The man frowned again. “...but why is it in my pocket? Plus...there’s blood on it...”_

_A sudden flash of a memory back in the sketchbook after they had burned Mary came to light. He had mentioned he cut himself on the glass a small bit, and she gave him her handkerchief to help with the blood coming out of it. “...I was... I was...wounded...on the hand...and...a girl...” The same image flashed in his head again. “A girl gave me her handkerchief...” he mentioned then trailed off and was silent for a long moment before speaking more. “Yes...this handkerchief was given to me as a gift... It was a gift...from Ib! Ib...!”_

_Ib stiffened up when the man before her suddenly got down to her height and gave her a hug. “I remember now,” she heard him whisper. “We were together back there... How could I have forgotten? It was so important...!” The little girl didn’t understand why, but she wrapped her arms around the strange male then felt him hug her a bit tighter. “We stuck together through that bizarre gallery... Chased by statutes...and by Mary too, right?” he inquired before somewhat pulling back and staring at the brunette, little girl. “Ib...do you remember?”_

_There was a long moment of silence before she nodded. “I remember,” the young female said just barely above a whisper._

_“Oh, thank goodness!” he exclaimed. “It’s hard to believe even now...but it must have happened, right? Ib...”  He brought her back into another embrace. “We got back safely! We did it! ...Ahaha...” The man let out a quiet sigh before releasing Ib and standing back up. “...There’s so much more I want to talk about, but I’ve got to get going,” he informed. “Ah, uh, Ib...is it alright if I keep this handkerchief for a while longer? It wouldn’t do to return it as it is...”_

_She nodded._

_“I’ll have to...make it clean and then give it back, because...we’ll see each other again!”_

 <3<3<3<3<3

_Ib, the young brunette haired girl, slowly bit into a piece of a macaroon as she glanced toward the lavender haired young man with her bright ruby colored eyes. The lavender haired man blinked at her and questioned as she continued to stare at him, “Do you like your macaroons Ib?”_

_The brunette girl nodded curtly as she finished chewing her macaroon. “Thank you, Garry.”_

_He smiled gently before picking up a macaroon of his own and taking a bite of it. He then said idly chatting, “I’m glad that you like them... The tea is good, too, I assume?”_

_“It too,” she replied with a tiny smile._

_Suddenly an older woman with short, light brunette hair and red irises walked up to the table, and she smiled at the man and little girl. “Everything okay?” she asked. “Nothing...weird’s going on?”_

_Ib coughed gently; choking on a bite of macaroon. “M-Mom,” she stuttered quietly, “e-everything’s perfectly all right!”_

_“Okay, dear. I’m just making sure.” Ib’s mother smiled gently as she spoke. The older woman then sat down at an adjourning seat that was at the next table and looked down at a book of puzzles that she had been trying to complete. At the same table an older man with darkish brown hair sat glaring daggers at Garry. Garry, unsettled by this, sighed a bit lightly before taking a sip of his iced tea._

_Seeing this, the little girl frowned slightly. “What’s the matter?”_

_“Oh, uh, w-what? N-Nothing’s the matter. Everything’s perfectly all right, Ib,” the lavender haired male responded, raising his hands lightly as if someone had said ‘Put your hands up!’ then placed them back down while eyeing another macaroon._

_Ib gave Garry a weird look but dropped the topic and silently looked down at the sweet in her hand._

_Why is this so good, she wondered at random._

_The man with the dark brunette hair that was sitting across from the girl’s mother stood up from his seat abruptly and walked over to the table that Garry and Ib were sitting at. He then put his hands on the tabletop and looked over at the young female. “I think it’s time we go home now,” he stated rather bluntly and loudly._

_She frowned. “Dad, we’re not done talking,” she pointed out._

_“Now Ib,” the younger male began, “your father is doing what he thinks is best for his young daughter. Do remember that I’m a stranger to him and your mother, and I’m many years older than you.” Garry set down the macaroon he had been nibbling on down to rest on the plate in front of him. “It’s quite understandable, his actions.” He added, “I would be concerned if it happened to be the other way around.”_

_Father gave the young adult a harsh glare and his hands became fists against the table. “Look here, you smartassed emo...!”_

_“Oh, honey, don’t be so mean! He did tell the truth,” Ib’s mother piped in before the father could continue yelling. “Besides, you’re making a scene! In any case he’s like an older brother to Ib!”_

_He turned his head to look at his wife, giving her a look that said she was insane. “We don’t even know this man!” the husband growled._

_“Honey,” the mother began as she softened her expression when she looked towards Garry and back at her husband. “He seems nice enough...” She then smiled at her spouse. “In any case, we’ll always be there when he’s around Ib.”_

_“I still don’t trust him...”_

_Garry shrugged. “As I indicated before, I’m quite alright with your lack of trust,” he stated. “I don’t mind showing you that I’m not some pedophile out to rape Ib.”_

_Said young girl blinked her eyes rapidly. “What’s rape?” she asked with a mouthful of macaroon. “Oh, and what’s a pedophile?”_

_The lavender haired male let out a sigh. “Don’t learn about that kinda stuff until you’re older...”_


	2. Silent Threat

“Lalalalala...lalalalala...they’re coming...” High pitched, eerie voices echoed throughout a dark appearing gallery. “They’re coming... Lalalalala...they’re coming...!” small, blue dolls with shaggy, black afros sang, singing the same tune over and over again.

The headless statues gurgled about amongst themselves, unsure of what the afroed dolls meant. “Do you think it’s true, _it’s true_?”

“Of course it is...” hissed the painted red ladies as they smirked deviously.

The yellow ladies echoed the dolls. “They’re coming!”

“Mmm...silly sillies,” chimed in a deep girlish voice. “You’re all so excited, aren’t you? Well, I suppose you would be... After all, they _did_ kill our lovely Mary...” The owner of the voice exited the shadows, revealing a young man in a long navy colored coat. He smirked evilly as he glanced around the room towards the others, his purple hair glistening in the dim lighting of the gallery.

“Burned her,” another voice corrected.

He smiled once again, looking into the shadows as a young girl entered from them. “Ah, Ib...”

The girl replied removing some stray dark brown hair from her face. “Yes, Garry?”  She glanced at him with her dark red irises, smiling along with him.

Garry placed his hand upon Ib’s shoulders.”They’re all so anxious...”

“I can tell,” the girl with red eyes replied, looking over the group.

The painted ladies of many colors almost sneered at the purple hair man and the fact that his hands that were placed upon the younger girl’s shoulders. Every single painting refrained from saying anything though. Each one of them feared the male of the two fakes. Of course, on the other end of the spectrum, the headless statues, undoubtedly, could hardly see anything. All of them fawned over the man. On a random note: the one thing they could see was how fashionable the evil male was along with the young looking female.

Another woman entered the scene, she had short dark brown hair and identical red irises as the young girl. “Ah, well, I suppose we should get to planning, shouldn’t we, dear?”

Ib giggle a bit darkly before answering the older woman. “Oh, yes, mother!”

<3<3<3<3<3

“Come on, Ib, you’re sixteen now! Don’t be a slowpoke!” a lavender haired man teased, running on ahead outside of a chain link fence to a high school.

The young woman named Ib panted lightly while she ran, and she frowned at the male running, more like jogging, beside her. “Shu-Shut up, Garry!” she shouted airily with annoyance.

“Teacher...who’s that man?” a random student asked, poking at the gym teacher’s sleeve.

“Who, him?” the instructor questioned, indicating to Ib and Garry as they rounded a corner.

“Yeah, isn’t he some sort of creep?” The child replied curiously.

A chuckled filled the air between the student and the proctor. “No, not at all,” they answered. “He’s always around her, and her parents are oddly okay with it...”

The student furrowed their eyebrows upon his teacher’s response and then countered. “Still, doesn’t that make him a pedophile?”

There was another short laugh. “The man’s completely harmless,” they reassured the teenager. “He’s only nine years older than her, anyways.”

“Now who’s a slowpoke, Garry?!” Ib stuck out her tongue as she ran ahead of the older man who was now slowing down and panting. “C’mon, we ran longer than this in that gallery!”

Garry let out an exhausted laugh. “That was awhile ago,” he retorted. “I also haven’t been in a gym class in forever!”

“Still, be a man!” the brunette shouted back to the lavender haired male. “You’ve been through worse than a gym class!”

“Huh, what are they talking about, a gallery?” Some of the students whispered quietly as they ran along as well.

A girl with makeup caked on her face scoffed and crossed her arms while she sat on the metal bleachers. “He’s, like, her stalker, I’m telling you,” she stated loudly.

“What if he’s, like, her boyfriend or something?” a powdered faced boy asked in a nasally tone of voice.

She shook her head. “Are you kidding?” she sneered. “Who would want to be with it? He’s not its boyfriend.”

“Then, like, what are they to each other?” The nasally toned boy responded.

“I _just_ said he was its stalker,” she growled. “Like, listen to me for a fucking change in pace.”

“Well _excuse_ me, honey. I just don’t seem to, like, understand that logic,” the boy flamboyantly flailed his arm about.

The girl rolled her eyes. “Do you even, like, understand what “logic” means?”

“Do you?” The boy hissed back.

She smirked at him. “I just fuck it,” the young woman stated. “It’s a better fuck than you.”

“Oh, no you didn’t, girlfriend!” the male shouted. “You’re a fucking... A fucking...” He trailed off before he turned his back to the snarky girl and hopped off the bleachers. “You know what?! Screw you, honey! I’m done! I. Am. _Done_!” With that the boy left without a word and a swing in his hips.

A laugh passed the female’s lips before she called out, “Finally, my gaydar isn’t, like, off the damn chart!”

“Yeah, well, go ahead! Laugh all you want!” The male shouted his last words before entering the school building.

The teacher looked up from looking at his watch and called out to the class. “Okay, kids, class’ over! Round up!”

<3<3<3<3<3

_Ding, ding, ding!_

Garry stood up from the bench he was sitting on in the commons of the school then walked over to the office and leaned against the brick next to it. He watched calmly as the students of the school spilled out from the classes on each side of the hallway he could see. It wouldn’t be long until he and Ib would leave and go to her home. “Hopefully her father’s at work,” he said quietly to himself.

The girl with the makeup caked face giggled as she and the young man with her while they strode down the hall as if they were hot stuff. Her laughter soon died down when she noticed the extremely tall man standing next to the office. “Hey, look,” she whisper. “He’s back for it again.”

“Again?” The young man with her replied in response to her while looking at the lavender haired male that was standing by the office. “He’s, like, really some sort of creep, right?”

“I told you!” she squawked. “I feel just a tiny bit bad for her... Like, I mean, she’s such a fragile thing...” The girl then sighed dramatically. “Don’t worry, dear child!” she cried. “I, being the good citizen like I am, along with my gay sidekick, will, like, totally help rid you of your creeper!”

The nasally boy spoke, staring blankly at the preppy girl, “She seems, like, perfectly fine with it...”

She rolled her grey eyes. “You, like, can’t even see it,” the young woman retorted. “She’s, like, in such shock and, like, broken that she, like, can’t muster the ability to even, like, get him to, like, go away!”

“Really?” the boy said in frank. “You know what I think? I think you, like, just want him for yourself...”

Her nose suddenly scrunched up into something unrealistic. “Ew...!” she exclaimed. “He’s, like, so...girly and, like, emo looking! No way!”

“Ahuh...” was all the nasally boy replied as he rolled his eyes.

“Seriously...!” she exclaimed. “Like, I mean, just, like, look at him!”

The young man swung his hips. “He looks very fashionable to me.”

“Yeah, to you!” the girl sneered. “Anyways, c’mon, let’s go.” She grabbed his wrist and dragged the flamboyant male along with her to the supposed stalker. “Hello!” she greeted Garry, a smile upon her lips

“Uh, hello,” Garry replied, looking at the girl and her "friend" curiously. “Do you need something?”

With a nod, the made up girl said, “We’re, like, curious about what you, like, are to Ib.” She crossed her arms and shifted her weight to one hip. “Are you, like, a weirdo, or something?”

The lavender haired male jumped, blushing slightly. “No! Of course not! Ib and I are friends!”

A strange expression appeared on her facial features. “Really?” she asked. “Then why’re, like, always around?”

“It’s complicated...” The tall man looked away from the two students. “Ib needs me, and that’s really all you need to know, sir-erm-miss,” Garry replied giving the pair a stern look when he turned back to them.

Ib walked merrily from her locker after getting her school stuff while humming a tune. She was in a bright mood and it didn’t seem like anything could disrupt this. That was until she saw the preppy girl and her goon, her enemies since elementary school, speaking with Garry by the office. What were they talking to him about, and why? Were they telling him outrageous lies about her? Were they making her to be an insane person?

She could feel her throat tightening and the urge to run in the opposite direction. She wanted to cry, not because of what the duo could be telling him but of the fact he might believe it. The thought of Garry not being around made her feel completely empty and hollow, and she hated it. He was always there for her and vice versa ever since they met in the other gallery when the paintings came to life to chase after them...headless statues suddenly moving on their own and growling...

With a loud thud of her bag dropping to the floor, Ib gasped and breathed unevenly; her throat tightening even more than it already was. Tears began streaming down her face and her breathing became loud and harsh sounding as she gasped. She felt like she was choking on her own breath and began to sink down to the floor, losing her steadiness and balance from being distraught. Her heart felt as it was racing, thudding against her rib cage, and she began to have chest pains.

She ran her fingers, which were becoming numb, through her hair while holding her head and rocking slightly. It felt like her head was going to explode from pain and lack of air; her hyperventilating worsening. She was dizzy enough to make her sick to her stomach, and cold, but she was sweaty as if she were in a sauna. Ib couldn’t help but have a sense of terror; other than the possibilities of Garry believing the lies that the preps told him the memories of the other gallery came flooding in with her sense of panic, making her feel like she was losing control.

Garry looked up, knowing it was about time for Ib to be coming by, and looked towards the hallway where the kids were staring and backing away. Ib in was curled up into a crumpled ball on the floor, gasping for air like a fish out of water. Garry quickly rushed over to her in less than the blink of an eye. “Ib?! Ib?! Calm down! Breath!” he instructed while other students began to swarm around the both of them.

“The-They ne-ever stop cha-asing yo-ou,” the brunette girl choked out in an airy tone.

“I know, Ib, I know...” Garry voiced calmly while rubbing her shoulder in a comforting manner. “It’ll be okay... Remember, we escaped. Remember? Just breath, Ib, breath...”

She gasped loudly. “I-I’m no-ot cra-azy!” she cried.

“I know, Ib. You are definitely not crazy...” Garry’s expression softened even more as he patted her head lightly and brought her close so she could cry on him.

“Yo-You don’t belie-ieve the-em...?”

“Believe who, Ib? No one said anything about you,” he told her gently and calmly continued to pat her head.

Ib said nothing as she continued to gasp against Garry. Instead she looked passed him at the two people standing behind him: the girl with the makeup covered face and the flamboyant male that was always around her. All three of them stared at each other in silence as the brunette kept on hyperventilating.

“Is she going to be okay?” a young boy, presumably a freshman, asked with concern lacing his voice.

“Oh, this happens all the time.” a female student, who was most likely a senior, replied to the boy. “Not really sure what it’s all about. Personal business and all...”

The freshman boy frowned before he spoke up again. “Really? That’s kind of sad...”

The senior, who was completely desensitized to it, then answered once again. “Yeah, well, you kind of get used to it... She always seem okay afterwards.”

“Weird,” the young man whispered. “You’d think she’d be on medicine, or something.”

<3<3<3<3<3

A shaky sigh escaped from Ib as she and Garry walked down the sidewalk, and she rubbed one side of her forehead before running her fingers through her long, brown hair. “I-I’m sorry,” she stuttered quietly.

“You have nothing to be sorry about, Ib,” Garry reassured her while swinging her school bag over his shoulder.

“Garry...!” Ib began in a frantic tone.

The lavender haired young man gave her a gentle yet understanding look before saying. “No buts, Ib. It was perfectly understandable.” He ruffled her hair softly with his empty hand. “Besides you had a panic attack, Ib. Do you understand?”

“...Yes, Garry...” The girl with red irises sighed in defeat as she continued to walk beside him. “I’m not just a child anymore...” she added in a mumble.

Garry stopped, turned, and looked at her with seriousness while putting his left hand on her right shoulder. “Oh, Ib, I’m not saying you are,” he informed the female. “I’m just trying to look out for you. I don’t mean to treat you like a child if that’s what you think I’m doing. You’re a young woman.” He smiled. “A beautiful, strong, young woman.” The lavender haired male blushed slightly at saying his last few words as he spoke.

The brunette haired female became red as well at Garry’s comment. He usually didn’t talk to her like that, and it was quite flattering that he had called her “beautiful.” She hadn’t really ever thought of herself being pretty after all. “Are you sure?” she lightly mumbled in embarrassment as she tucked a stray hair from her blushing face behind her left ear.

“Positive,” Garry replied while reaching into his pocket and pulled out a fake flower. “I know this isn’t much, being fake and all, but here...” The lavender haired young man bent his knees down slightly as he tucked the plastic, purple rose inbetween her hair and her left ear. “There...now you look even better!” he exclaimed. The man gave her another smile. “Of course it wouldn’t matter either way... You’d still be gorgeous,” Garry stated with a light chuckle and the blush of his own still upon his cheeks as Ib stared at him intently.

“Funny, I had this to give you...” Ib blushed again, taking out a fake, purple rose of her own, and stood on her tippy toes to stick it through one of the buttonholes of his long torn/worn jacket that he had for so many years.

“Oh, Ib...thank you,” Garry smiled, helping her getting it through.

Ib looked back up at him with a small smile of her own. “No, Garry, thank you,” she urged. “Without you, I would have never escaped that horrid place...” The brunette haired girl then wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly. The lavender haired man smiled gently again before placing his arms around her to return the hug. “It’s perfectly alright, Ib...”

She leaned into him more as they stayed in their embrace for a little longer until a sudden loud honk made the both of them jump out of each other’s arms before another gave them a heart attack.

“You slimy bastard!” a male yelled as he rolled down the window to the car he drove. “Get your hands off my damn daughter!”

“Dad, it was just a hug!” Ib blushed furiously as she yelled at him from the other side of the street.

“I don’t care!” he hollered. “Just get in the car, and I’ll take ya home!”

The girl shrugged. “Alright, but Garry’s coming too!” she informed. “Mom said he could!”

His blue-grey eye visibly twitched at the news. “What is wrong with your mother?!”

<3<3<3<3<3

“Lalalalala~! My daughter and my son-in-law are coming home soon~” a light brown haired woman sang in her kitchen as she grabbed her pot holders and pulled some freshly baked cookies out of the oven. She just couldn’t wait for everyone to come home.


	3. Reoccurring Terrors

There was a giggle that filled the otherwise silent, dark room. “She’s so pathetic,” Ib announced. “You think you can handle it, Garry?”

“Of course,” he said with slight scoff. “It’ll be as easy as pie!" Garry chuckled darkly. “ _Very_  easy...”

She raised an eyebrow. “Just as long as nothing happens too early,” the girl stated then smirked. “I wanna see his face when he watches her parish.”

“Yes, don’t worry, it will be magnificent," the lavender haired male informed, another chuckle escaping him. “Don’t you worry about a thing, my sweet.” He then leaned down and kissed the young woman’s cheek.

““Ib! Ib!”” the female mocked before allowing a cackle to escape from her. ““Ib, don’t worry, I’ll save you!””

A rather large grin grew upon Garry’s lips. “You can imagine it the other way around, can’t you?” he asked. ““Oh, Garry! Garry, don’t leave me! Garry!”’

The girl smiled at the tall man. “Completely can, but I think I’d rather see _his_ reaction more,” she told him.

Garry’s grin didn’t falter. “Ah...well...to each their own.”

“C’mon,” she then instructed, taking his hand in an attempt to drag the male along with her. “I have the feeling the ladies in color are crawling around and freaking out.”

 

<3<3<3<3<3

“So, how do you like your cookies, Garry?” Ib’s mother smiled lightly as she looked at the lavender haired male at the table. She then turned to wash some dishes and the cookie bowl at the sink as she listened for his answer.

Garry gave the mother a polite smile along with a nod while he swallowed the bite of cookie in his mouth. “Yes, thank you,” he said. “Snickerdoodle...?”

“Something like that....” The mother smiled once more as she washed the dishes.

He stared at her with eyes slightly wide. “S-Something like that?” he stuttered. “If I may ask, what is that suppose to mean, exactly?”

“Hm? Oh, it’s just an old family recipe, that’s all, so don’t look like they’re poisonous Garry, ‘cause they’re not.” Ib’s mother chuckled lightly. “I’m not entirely sure what my grandmother called them... After all, she hated snickerdoodles,” the older woman said.

“My apologies,” he said to the older woman in a sincere manner. “That wasn’t my intent at all, I assure you.”

“No offense was taken, don’t worry about it.” The mother waved her hand dismissively while still smiling as she looked back at Garry.

The male mumbled something incoherent into the cookie he had brought to his lips as he looked away from her. He was somewhat embarrassed from what had just happened, and he cursed himself for not being able to read people easily. Of course that didn’t include Ib. She always seemed to wear her emotions on her sleeve, or perhaps they had become that close...

Didn’t we go through this yesterday too, he wondered.

“Hey, slimebag, my daughter’s in the shower, so don’t go anywhere near her,” Ib’s father hissed as he came into the room, taking a cookie before commenting, “Oh, don’t mind if I do~”

Garry let out a long sigh. “Why would I care if she’s in the shower or not?” he asked.

“Just making sure, you back talking jackass,” the father huffed while snacking on his cookie.

The younger man choked on his food and started coughing. “Whe-When did I-I b-back talk to you?!”

“Just now, you little prick!”

Before the father could continue with his rampaging mouth a scream erupted from down the hallway. “Leave us alone!”

Jumping to his feet immediately, Garry bolted out of the kitchen and into the hallway, going past the overprotective father who was still frozen in his spot. He banged on the bathroom door. “Ib, was that you?!” he called out in worry.

“They’re coming, Garry!” Ib cried out as the water continued to run. “They’re all over the place... Run! ” Another sob escaped from Ib. “M-Mary?! Give Garry’s rose back!”

He frowned as he grabbed the doorknob. What was she talking about? Mary never took his rose... “Hold on, Ib!” Garry shouted. He tried to turn the knob until he realized the door had been locked. “Really?” he mumbled. “I’m coming, Ib!” The man back up slightly then ran himself into the door. He growled to announce his pain after slamming into it, and gave it a glare since it didn’t budge. Garry then stepped back and began an attempt to kick the door down.

“What the hell has gotten into you?!” Ib’s father ran down the hall to clobber Garry.

“Honey, wait! He’s only trying to help Ib!” Ib’s mother ran after him.

A sudden slam filled the air, and the lavender haired male walked through the now open bathroom door as he looked around the area. “Ib...?” he questioned, wondering if she had gotten out of the shower even though the water was running.

Curled up against the shower wall while covered in her long brown locks of hair Ib continued to cry out. “Garry...!”

After grabbing a dark red towel from the towel rod, the young man jerked back the shower curtains to the left only to see the distraught teenaged girl with her hair just covering her breasts, and he closed his eyes. “Don’t worry, I’m not looking!” As he gently placed the towel over her body allowing it to get wet as he turned off the water. “Ib, it’s okay, I’m here,” Garry coxed softly while making sure the towel was tight around her.

Ib sobbed slightly and turned her head to look at Garry, the expression on her face absolutely horrifying. The lavender haired male brought the brunette female in a close hug as he wiped some of her wet hair out of her face. “It’s okay... Mary’s gone...” he told the teenager gently. “She doesn't have my rose. It’s okay, Ib... It’s okay...”

“Garry?!” she gasped, trying to squirm out from his tight hold. “I thought you were back in that hallway coming out of the toy box!”

Shushing her softly, he grabbed another towel to dry her hair in an attempt to help calm her. “Breathe, Ib.”

The girl suddenly froze. “Wait,” she said with wide, red eyes. “You’re...you’re not the real Garry!” Ib began to thrash around in the young man’s arms. “Garry!” she sobbed. “Lemme go! How did you even get out?!”

“Ib, what are you talking about? Of course I’m the real Garry.”

“No you’re not!” she shouted at the top of her lungs as she pushed against his chest with her hands. “Release meee!”

“Why do you think that I’m not the real Garry, Ib?” The lavender haired male asked sadly with a frown.

She finally gave up and went limp in Garry’s hold, taking a shaky breath then sighing. “Garry was sitting hallway coming out of the toy box,” she told him. “You were sound asleep...”

Garry gave her a strange look and then replied after wetting his lips. “Sound asleep? Don’t you remember, Ib? We ran out of that hall and then went and burned Mary when she came after us with that knife... I never fell asleep.”

Ib shook her head to disagree. “No!” she exclaimed. “You...no, Garry traded his rose with Mary for my rose and we escaped the toy box, and started down a hallway to get completely out then he fell to the ground! He needed to rest so he told me to continue forward and that he’d come running if I needed his help ‘cause I was in trouble.” The young brunette began to tremble to the point where it was visible. “Whe-When I checked after watching him for a little bit get himself propped against a wall, he was asleep and wouldn’t wake up!”

“...I see,” the lavender haired man began with a sigh, “what can I do to convince you that I’m the real Garry, Ib?”

Silence filled the air between the two, and the young woman’s trembles seemed to become less severe as the time the both of them stayed there passed. It wasn’t before long when heavy breathing suddenly broke their silence. This made Garry look down at the sleeping Ib in his arms and shake his head while letting out a gentle sigh. “Poor thing,” he whispered. “It’s gonna stay with her forever, and it just gets worse...”

 

<3<3<3<3<3

_Ib watched as a blonde girl with dark blue eyes wearing a green dress walk around as if she pacing. She would go from painting to painting without a set route. The other girl was acting strange, but maybe their whole situation was just now slapping her in the face._

 _I’ll see if Mary’s okay in a minute, the brunette thought, I..._ we _have to get out of here, or else Garry will think we left him..._

_Something in the little girl told her to go back into the black and white room, and that’s exactly what she did. When she entered, it wasn’t black and white anymore, though. It was filled with color, and a rainbow jointed the side she was standing on to the opposite with a small table holding a key._

_Warily, Ib made her way to the rainbow bridge and put a foot on the seven bright colors. Her heart skipped a beat when she heard a crunch which made her look down immediately. She eyed the area her foot was on for a long moment before deciding she would be okay. The young female slowly, but surely made her way over the rainbow and snatched the brown key sitting on the table then ran back across the bridge and out the room._

_Taking a deep breath and letting it out, she looked around once again. Mary, from what Ib could tell, was still trudging around without an apparent reason, and, of course, everything else was still sitting where it was at. Nothing out of the ordinary...or whatever normal was at that point._

_Pushing herself off of the door she had leaned against, the brunette headed toward the wall that held Fisherman and grabbed the doorknob. She used the key she obtained to unlock it before she rushed through. “Wait, Ib...” the girl heard when she was at the stairs that headed downwards. Ib turned around as the other girl walked towards her. “...There’s stairs over here too...” Mary said out loud more to herself than to the other. “I’m going with you!”_

_Both girls rushed down the stairs together only to find another set of them before finding another door that was able to be unlocked from their side. After doing so, Ib and Mary walked into a dark violet room and walked down a hallway until they heard a male voice speaking. “...that... ...so? ...heehee...” They only moved a little bit forward when the voice started again. “...Ahahaha... ...oh, sure. Sometimes... ...yeah, yeah...”_

_“I hear someone talking,” the blonde girl whispered. Ib only nodded and continued moving forward._

_“...Don’t see that everyday, right? I just ran out, you see...” There was a long pause. “Oh, I really love it, but it takes awhile, for sure...”_

_Is that Garry talking to himself, the brunette wondered._

_“Oh, you too? Why, we certainly get along, don’t we? Ohohoho...”_

_Mary’s expression became twisted up in an odd fashion. “Is he...talking to someone?” she asked before Ib pushed herself through the door. The blonde followed her in, and stood behind the brunette with the look on her face filled with surprise instead of it being twisted up like it was. “...Garry...?”_

_Garry grinned. “Hoho, you’re really quite entertaining, you know that?” he asked nothing in particular. “I feel like I could talk to you about my every worry... Ahahahaha...”_

_The young brunette girl walked up to the dull purple haired male and stood in front of him before kneeling down. “Huh, never heard that before... Can you give me the details?”  she heard him ask no one. “No, no, I won’t tell anyone!” His grin had softened into a gentle smile. “Your secret’s safe with me!”_

_Garry’s face dropped tremendously and his eyes went wide. “Whaaa...? I don’t believe it!” the man exclaimed. “Really? Are you for real, ‘cause that’s just disgusting!” He frowned. “Who’d do that to a girl?” he questioned. “If I saw that happening, I’d tell them off for sure!”_

_What is wrong with you, Garry, Ib screamed in her head, quit ignoring me, and c’mon! I don’t wanna leave you behind!_

_The young male’s face seemed to drop even more. “Troubled?” he asked. “I know the feeling... You just feel...helpless sometimes.”  He closed his eyes and smiled a small yet sad smile. “You know you can’t run away, but nothing goes well either... ...Wonder why...” Garry added with a sigh after a slight pause, “...Yeah, that works too. It’s nice to not have to think...”_

_Garry...why, the brunette girl asked him in her head. She could feel herself become drained, but she still wanted to cry. Why was he acting the way he was? What had happened?_

_“Just forgetting the bad things...” Garry trailed off before smiling. “Ahaha, oh, yes! I’m with you there!”_

_“...Is this_ really _Garry?” Mary asked when she realized the man was only going to continue to talk to himself. “Something’s wrong with him...” She frowned at him. “Maybe it’s a fake?” the blonde suggested. “I mean, the_ real _Garry wouldn’t be_ here _...right? Don’t you think so, Ib...?”  The girl watched the other for a long moment, and her frown became deeper when she didn’t say or do anything for a response. “...Ib?”_

_The brunette seemed to just stare into the male’s dull purple eyes with her bright red ones, but she didn’t do much else. Her brightness in her demeanor seemed to have disappeared and she appeared to be emotionless at that point. She looked like she was just...drained..._

_Garry blinked rapidly for a little bit. “...Oh my,” he began, “did you get lost? Looking for a friend?” The man smiled gently at her. “All the children here are just like me,” he said, “so am I, of course!” Garry let out a soft laugh. “You should talk with us too until your mommy and daddy come pick you up! Aheeheehee...!”_

_Mary sighed and stepped back away from the weird man while the other girl looked down at the floor. “...Ib, let’s go,” she ordered in a gentle manner. “He’s_ not _listening to you.” She smiled. “Let’s find the exit, okay?” the blonde said. “Garry’s an adult, so I know he’ll come later! Okay? Let’s get to the stairs...”_

_Ib silently moved herself away from Garry and sat in front of him on the opposite side of the walkthrough. Her head was down and she crossed her legs so she could be crisscross applesauce. If he wasn’t going anywhere, then she wasn’t either._

_“...Huh...Ib?” Mary called then moved closer to the brunette. “H-Hey, Ib, what’s wrong? Don’t just sit there... I’m sure there’s an exit close!” She took one of the girl’s arms and pulled on it in an attempt to get the other up and going. “I’ll do my best for you! We’ll get out together! Yeah! Ib?”_

_“...” She continued to be silent._

_“Hnnn...!” The blonde kept on pulling Ib’s arm until it slipped from her grasp, and she frowned. “...Ib...” she trailed off and quietly watched the other young female. “...You want me to go ahead? You’re sure?” Mary’s dark blue eyes narrowed at the limp brunette in front of her. “...You dummy,” she said rather loudly. “I told you, we’d get out together...but I guess I’ll just have to alone!”_

_Her stomps filled the otherwise quiet air as she turned and marched out of the small room. There was a loud click and slam of a door after the blonde left, leaving both Garry and Ib in complete silence. It wasn’t before long until Mary came back calmly._

_“...” She walked forward once more and stood in front of the other girl again. “Ib, we’re friends,” she stated softly. “I’ve_ always _dreamed of going outside,_ but _...” Mary sat on her knees. “I don’t wanna leave you to do it... You’re my_ first _friend...!” she exclaimed. “I read in a book that you have to treat your friends right... That’s why I’ll_ always _be with you, Ib.” The blonde stood back up with a smile. “Ehehe...” She giggled then turned around to the man. “What about Garry?” she asked. “Will you be with us, too?”_

_“Hm...? What can we do here?” he questioned the blonde._

_Mary smiled. “Weeell...we can play hide and seek, or draw, or...or lots of things!” she told him. “We can have fun together here!”_

_Garry gave the blonde a bright smile. “My, that’s fabulous...!” he exclaimed. “I want to be apart of that!”_

_She smiled back at him awkwardly. “Garry’s an adult, but...okay!”_

_“Ahah! I’m glad...!”_

_Her smile soon turned into a grin. “Heehee...looks like I made two friends!” she shouted happily. “Let’s have a welcoming party!”_

_…_

_…_

_“Looks like everyone’s here!” Ib could just barely hear Mary say before she giggled. “Introducing! My new friends!”_

_The room wasn’t filled with little cute pink and white bunnies anymore. Instead it held blue dolls with black, shaggy hair along with bright, blood red eyes big and small (some even hanging from the ceiling), headless statues, mannequin heads, a Lady In Blue and a Lady In Red, Garry, Ib, and, of course, Mary and a few of her belongings. The violet room appeared to be darker than before than it originally had been too._

_Struggling to keep her eyes open, the brunette watched the Lady In Red snack on, or in the very least play “Loves Me, Loves Me Not” with her red rose. She didn’t care anymore, nor could she bring herself to care. All she was going to do, she had decided, was just listen to the blonde girl._

_“Ib and Garryyy!” Mary seemed to sing song. “Let’s all get along now!”_

_Then was when Ib looked over at the Lady In Blue, and she noticed her doing the same to a blue rose as the Lady In Red was doing with hers._

 

<3<3<3<3<3

In her sleep the brunette mumbled slightly while tossing around in her bed that Garry had brought her to earlier when had she originally passed out. “Nnnggh...! Garry!”

The lavender haired man's eyes shot up from the book he was reading to her in an instant. “Oh, Ib...” he whispered lightly in concern.

“Is she still not sleeping well?” Ib’s mother came into the room with a fresh pair of clean pajamas for the nude girl who was covered in nothing but her blanket and towel in her bed.

“No...she’s not,” Garry began sadly, “I think she’s having another nightmare about the gallery...”

Ib’s mother bit her lip before speaking. “What exactly happened there, anyway?”

“That...would be a long and painful story to tell,” the lavender haired male informed before taking a pause. “Let’s just say that some of Guertena’s artwork was scarier than it seemed.” He could tell that Ib’s mother wasn’t exactly sure of what to say as she stared at the young man before turning her attention back to her daughter.

“I’m sure you two will tell us someday, right?” The mother smiled gently before asking Garry to shoo with her eyes. “Well, um...lemme get Ib dressed...”

“Uh, yes, certainly, ma’am.” Garry stated with a pinkish blush forming on his cheeks as he turned to the door.

After a few minutes of waiting and reading his book, Garry slowly wondered what exactly Ib was dreaming about. Was it him not being the real Garry, or was it about Mary again? He’d have to ask her. That is, if she would let him talk to her again when she would awaken once more.

_“No!” A cry ran throughout Ib’s room that made Garry jump._

_He stared at the shut door for a long moment, waiting for another sound and/or voice. “...Is she okay?” the young man finally asked, worry lacing his tone._

_“Uh, Garry...” Ib’s mother’s voice echoed, “I think I need your help with Ib.”_

_“Sure thing. Right away,” he called back to her before closing the book in his hands and opening the bedroom door. “What’s the matter?”_

_As soon as the lavender haired male had stepped into the room everything had distorted into some twisted fashion. The walls were black, and it appeared as if crimson red blood was oozing from all sides. Garry had taken a step back only to hit a concrete wall which was covering the hole from the door frame. The young man then started to noticed the minute details of the room: the old decrepit furniture, the familiar creepy blue dolls with shaggy black hair and bright red eyes, and Ib’s mother who had her back turned to him. She stood in front of what Garry assumed to be Ib’s bed, until he noticed its changes. Now it was a bed with black cloth and rusty bedposts, and Ib was nowhere to be seen._

_“Um...m-ma’am...?” the male stuttered, looking in bewilderment around the room to see that the creepy, shaggy blue dolls beginning to move towards him._

_“Yes, Garry?” The head on Ib’s mother completely turned around while her body stayed facing away from him. She had the biggest grin from ear to ear with sharp jagged teeth projecting from lip to lip and her eyes...they were gone. They were nothing but black holes with glowing red orbs of light protruding outward from them._

_Garry then went completely pale, his eyes widening as he searched for an escape route. It soon hit him that this wasn’t exactly Ib’s room, so perhaps the closet wasn’t really a closet, but a perhaps a pathway. The lavender haired man quickly darted from his end of the room directly to the bedroom’s closet. Luckily, the door was cracked open instead of locked._

_As soon as the young man entered the pitch black area of the closet he slammed the door shut and fumbled, looking for his lighter in his pocket. When he finally found his lighter and flashed it on, all the young male could see was what appeared to be an endless gray hallway. After jumping from hearing banging on the other side of the closet door, he began running down the path, hoping to get some distance between himself and the occupants of the bloody black room._

_Minutes passed as Garry ran down the dim gray hallway. He soon slowed down in his running since it dawned on him that he wasn’t being chased at all. As he slowed to a fast walk, though, he noticed that the path had changed from a hallway into brambles and thorns._

_The floor was completely flat and appeared to cement, but the sides of the walls were thick bushels of thorns like one might see in a hedge maze. “What on earth is going on...?” the male asked himself. He then stopped and examined the thorny outcroppings and noticed that they were made of stone. “So, much for burning them...” he grumbled. “Then again...I guess I am in a maze...” The lavender haired male then glanced towards where he had been moving forward. He took note of how the path now forked._

_“Hmm...” Garry hummed quietly, slowly glancing to each side of the fork and pondered which way to go. “I wonder which way is safer...” The lavender haired man had already come to the conclusion that, in whatever case, both ways would be deathly and creepy as all would know._

_The young man stood there for several minutes getting more nervous as each second passed by. “Oh, Garry...” he heard a familiar voice call from the left._

_He couldn’t quite place who it was from, and he ponder about it until he heard another voice from the right. “Garry, help me!”_

_That’s when it hit him, the voice to the left was the voice of Mary...and Ib was calling him on from the right. Without a moments hesitation the male ran to the right hoping that he could trust his ears._

_Garry rounded a few corners until he came to a clearing as the hedges started to close in behind him, blocking him inside. He saw Ib in a cage of rose thorns with a gigantic brilliant red colored rose on the top. She was covered in bruises and scrapes, as well as pale white scars that had healed. “No, Garry, run!” Ib cried out, her arm reaching slightly beyond the bars of her thorny prison. “Get out of here!”_

_“Ib!” Garry cried out in response reaching, his own hand towards her. He then saw long, curly, blonde hair and shimmering dark blue eyes. “Mary!” the lavender haired man growled angrily._

_“Ah, ah, ah,” Mary said with a smirk. She raised her infamous palette knife to the brilliant rose that had bloomed on top of Ib’s cage. “Come on, you know the drill Garry...” she seemed to scold him. ““When the rose wilts, so too will you rot away.””_

_“You can’t mean?!”_

_“Oh, yes, oh yes, I can...”_

_Garry cringed when she brought down the knife, cutting one of the petals and sending it straight towards the ground. When it landed, the petal shrivelled up and turned completely black, eventually crumbling into dust. Ib tried to hold back a  cry of pain as a deep, elongated gash spread from her elbow, down her forearm, to the back of her wrist._

_The lavender haired man looked desperately between the two females. One of them was in obvious pain and the other grinning like it was Christmas, and she had all the gifts. He slowly made a move towards Ib, only making Mary cut another petal._

_“Do you know what it’s like being here, not being a real person?” the blonde asked as Ib cried out in pain yet again. She didn’t even wait for the young man to respond. “It doesn’t feel good, Garry!” Mary shrieked at the top of her lungs, almost sounding like she wanted to cry. “It doesn’t feel good, it doesn’t feel good, it doesn’t fucking feel good, Garry!!!”_

_Before Garry could even try to respond, let alone do anything, Mary continued on her rampage with a psychotic grin plastered upon her face. “LOVES ME, LOVES ME NOT...! LOVES ME, LOVES ME NOT...! LOVES ME, LOVES ME NOT...!” he could hear her scream while she hacked and slashed at Ib’s rose. He could only watch in horror as Mary continued on until she left only two out of the ten petals that were there originally._

_Ib, by now, was completely soaked in blood, leaving Garry only to appear terrified and feel helpless as well as weak that he couldn’t do, or hadn’t stopped Mary’s actions. “You know, Garry,” the blonde began in an oddly calm voice, “I do like the color blue, you know...” A smirk slowly appeared upon her lips. “I mean, I like red, but...blue is so much more..._ pretty _.”_


End file.
